Is there English much spoken in Japan?

Question

I'm an American citizen living in Korea and I'm planning to visit Japan next month.

Unfortunately I don't speak a word of Japanese.

Is it possible to communicate in English in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and some other smaller towns?

Is Japan as safe as South Korea to travle alone?

Answer 1

Everyone learns it in school, but most people are not very good at it so you have to talk slow, and yes its just as safe as Korea.

Answer 2

English is called the business language of the world so that means that every international business salesmen who wants to be successful must know English. So, to answer your question...Yes, you will be able to go to Japan and not know their language however, I would at least take a few lessons to be able to talk to the commoners. As the safety goes.. I'm not sure but I heard that Japan is really a cool place to be.

Answer 3

probably safer. and yes many of Japan's youth can already speak coherrant english.

Answer 4

No. Um...they speak French.

Answer 5

Japan is a very safe place.

Unfortunately most people do not speak English. Even if they know a little most are too shy to actually speak it.

Of course at the airport or at a fancy hotel there are employees who speak English, but most regular people do not.

This is what I would advise--learn a few greetings in Japanese and smile a lot. Always be patient, never appear to be angry or try to throw your weight around. Carry a small pad of paper with you and if you have a question you can write it (in English) on the pad. It will be much easier for people to read your question--reading comprehension is higher than listening. Also they can use your little notepad to draw a map if necessary.

Answer 6

I DONT THINK SO.

Answer 7

Japan is definitely so much safer. If you leave your wallet on a bench, the next day, it will still be there on the bench. Students would probably speak English but the stationmasters can speak a little bit of english there. Kyoto has so many universities so most shop keepers there can speak english. so don't worry, have fun. I have been there a couple of times and manage to get to all the places that i want to go with trouble. :)

Answer 8

I recently went to Japan, and yes, there are several polite and helpful people who speak pretty fluent english.

Be warned though, in the smaller towns, very few speak English, so it would be best if you carried a pocket dictionary.

Good luck! =)

Answer 9

take classes cuz they speak no english

Answer 10

well I moved there with my family for about 7 months this a year ago

and in larger cities such as Tokyo tons of people speak english and anywhere that is even a littlemodernized there

there will be at least a handful of people who speak english because of their hard core education system

many people are required to learn it in school

because as you probably know doing business internationaly english is needed most of the time

so I would say probably yes you'll be fine, owever you might want to practice simple frases

Answer 11

try to go to the cities and it is much more common to find english especially tokyo

Answer 12

It is a little complicated. Many Japanese have some English ability but most Japanese have not used English since School or possibly on a trip abroad a little. Most Japanese are not comfortable listening to English and trying to speak English with a foreigner.

People who live in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka are a little more comfortable because they are exposed to foreigners a little more. If you travel to small towns you will have a more difficult time. Also you will find many small towns don't have many signs in English either.

Don't get me wrong if you need basic assistance people will try to help you but you should not expect too much and you should speak slowly and clearly.

I suggest you learn at least some basic Japanese. Japanese appreciate it if you at least make some kind of attempt to speak their language. Bring a little cheat sheet of a few common phrases like exscuse me, thank you, hello, where is the train station, can I have this, how much is that etc.

It would also help if you looked up some basic manners. Japanese are pretty sensitive about good manners. Make sure to have no holes in your socks and never walk on tatami with shoes. Don't be too noisy on the trains or anywhere really. You should not eat and drink while walking. Though some people do this now it is still considered bad manners by most. Things like this are kind of important.

As far as safety goes Japan is one of the safest places in the world. You should have no problems unless you are acting in a poor manner.

Answer 13

Japanese commonly don't need to have second language in living life in Japan so that they don't speak English very much there.

Many says that foreigners scheduled to go to Japan should learn several basic Japanese, however,  I think it is quite nonsense to do so because the real necessary communication on going must be much more complicated and precisely rather beyond such basic innocent words usually.

I recommend that you should keep a handy notebook and magic pen to communicate in writing. Even though Japanese can't listen and speak English fluently but they can understand by reading it.

Most of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and other cities have indications written in English in public place. You speak English to communicate with Japanese there if you pronouciate it very slowly, distinctly and loudly as if you do to very infants or too much aged person.

I am sure the degree of safety in Japan for foreign travelers in day time or night time is always higher everywhere than in Korea.

You must of course do behave carefully as stranger  though.

Answer 14

Are you trying to renew your korea visa so that you plan to go to Japan for a short travelling?  Well, most of people working in hotel and banking know English very well.  The other places or service then you got to learn to talk in Japanese or it would be essential for you to have a map which spell by English but pronounce in Japanese, you know.  That will save you a lot of trouble and time to telll any stranger on the street where you would like to head to.  

For train, JR, every stop on the map of board will have english spelling so that it would be not hard for you to buy ticket from the staff simplely just say it by its pronounciation.

For food, in Kansai, such as Kobe , Osaka and Kyoto, there are a lot of picture or wax model in front of resturants. Even you don't know how to say it right in Japanese, just give number of wax model plates to waiter, they all know number in English.  Sushi, there are a lot of sushi resturant with rotating train wheel automatically running in front of you.  All you need to just pick it up and pay the check after meal when you point where you sit.

Laman, is also famous Japanese food as well as Korean, Just pick any kind of laman you know.

For the small town, if you travelled so micro places, then you got to learn to read Kanji or how to say that places in Japanese.  People in the small villiage usually do not know English at all, though they are very friendly.

It is quite safe to travel in anywhere in Japan, I guarantee you.

I have been to a rural northern Kyoto mountain, southern Osaka mountain, Hokkaido wild field and a lot of northern east ghostly town with not many people around when night falls by myself.  Even I walked through a big ancient graveyard in Koyasan and deep hotspring in the mountain of Kosan all by myself, never bump into any robbery or pervert at all.  So worry free.  But you got to be careful if you check in any cheap hotel or hostel, watch your wallet.

Answer 15

No English, is not a common language in Japan, simply because the country has only one official language, that would be Japaneese. Japan, would be much safer to travel alone, then as in South Korea. Because Japan is a friendly and more Western-ized, meaning it has many components of the Western World i.e fast food eateries and large shopping malls. Thus making it safer to travel alone.